It’s true, focusing on this of all the problems facing us today is a little silly. And I don’t think it is the government’s place to discourage this. But it is our place to discourage it. This is something culture has to change. It should not be culturally acceptable to purchase McMansions. The owners of McMansions shouldn’t have the respect, envy or admiration of their neighbors and peers. They should face scorn and derision. Eventually people will stop wanting them and stop buying them. And they will stop being built.
Instead, we should encourage those with the money to build and purchase homes that have been built as sustainably as possible. You shouldn’t be trying to one up the Joneses with a home that is bigger, more wasteful and more ostentatious. You should be trying to one up the Joneses with a home that has a smaller environmental footprint, that makes better use of the land it sits on, that is more off the grid and more carbon neutral.